Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania won a joint bid for the European Union’s Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project in October 2009. The University of Szeged is hosting the project in Hungary. The project is expected to open new avenues to reveal the secrets of matter on ultra-short timescales. The center in Szeged is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. Almost HUF 37 bln has been allocated for the first phase of construction, mostly from EU funds.